Dear friends,

Did you know more than a quarter of all people in this county are touched by a child support case? Outside of the public education system, the child support program touches more children than any other public program in the state. 

August is Child Support Month and we will again have many activities aimed at making sure the children of this county get the financial support they need to live a decent life. With more than 90,000 cases, we are one of the busiest Child Support Enforcement Agencies in the state. Our workers do a tremendous job handling a high volume of cases.  

Child Support is a program that touches everyone, no matter their income or social status. Nearly 90 percent of our CSEA customers are not receiving public assistance. Yet, if many of the families we serve did not receive their child support, they would turn to the government for assistance.  

We work year round on our collection efforts, but we really gear up each August in an attempt to spread awareness around child support. Some of the things you will see: 

• New Most Wanted poster
• Amnesty Month/Week for those with license suspension or warrants to clear their slate and get a fresh start
• Aug. 6 event for attorneys to get information on new cash medical support orders
• Designation of a Child Support Hero and lifetime achievement award winners to those who have done much to support the county’s child support program.

Our Most Wanted poster always gets a lot of attention. But, the truth is, putative measures are a last resort in Child Support. The last place we want someone is in jail, because they can no longer work and provide financial support and they can no longer be a parent to the child. 

I like to instead focus on the positive things we do in Child Support. I am proud of the things we do to help parents become better parents. Child support should be about more than financial support, it must also be about providing the parenting support a child needs. Our REAL Dads program, and our Seek Work program, are both designed to financially stabilize paying parents while helping them to be more involved in their child’s life.  

One older father who joined our REAL Dads program last year encouraged his son, who had children of his own, to also join. Three generations of a family were better off because of our program. The older father, who had an adversarial relationship with our Child Support agency for years, said this program was exactly what he needed.  

“I understand someone is working WITH me instead of AGAINST me,” he said. 

Those are the kind of success stories I like to hear. I am sure there will be many more this month and throughout the year.

Sincerely,

Moira